Bear Cave (Rodalben)

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Bear cave

Kuntz-Verlag 07-baerenhoehle-rodalben.jpg
Location: Rodalben , district of Südwestpfalz , Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany
Geographic
location:
49 ° 13 '27.7 "  N , 7 ° 36' 57.6"  E Coordinates: 49 ° 13 '27.7 "  N , 7 ° 36' 57.6"  E
Bear Cave (Rodalben) (Rhineland-Palatinate)
Bear Cave (Rodalben)
Type: Sandstone cave
Overall length: 37 m

The largest natural cave in the Palatinate is known as the Bärenhöhle (also: Bärenfelshöhle ) . The sandstone cave is located directly on the Rodalber rock hiking trail between Rodalben and Pirmasens .

description

At the entrance, the cave is 27 meters wide, nine meters high and about 37 meters deep. The Bärenfelsquelle emerges above the cave, the water then falls over another rock step almost 20 meters below the cave into a basin. Over the course of time, erosion has created an imposing two-story rock formation. The Bärenfelshöhle is an example of the niche and cave formations in the Palatinate Forest. A rest area has been set up in front of the cave. Next to it is the sandstone sculpture “Bear” by the Rodalben artist Stephan Müller .

Sandstone sculpture "Bear" below the bear cave

Surname

It is controversial whether the name actually comes from bears, which prefer dwellings with a narrower entrance. Alternatively, the name can be traced back to the family names Bermann or Bärmann. The cave is part of the bear rock.

history

According to recent studies, the first settlements took place around 8,000 years ago. Finds of rock scrapers, arrowheads and bones with sharpened barbs suggest this. What is certain is that the cave offered hogherds shelter. As early as 1855, Franz Weiß wrote in his illustrated volume about the Palatinate, how the cave “extended considerably deep into the mountain, from whose background filled with horrific darkness a rather strong spring flows out, which extends over the lower cave into a deeper basin falls down. “From a forest restaurant that existed at the Bear Cave until the First World War (1914-1918), a stone base (former table) and benches still stand today.

Water basin below the bear cave

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. State Center for Political Education: Blätter zum Land (4 2001) . ( rlp.de [PDF]).
  2. a b Südwestpfalz Touristik: Bärenhöhle . ( suedwestpfalz-touristik.de ).
  3. ^ Franz Weiss: The picturesque and romantic Rhine-Palatinate: presented. in steel engraving views / described by Franz Weiss (originally 1855) . Weidlich, Frankfurt am Main 1981.
  4. West Palatinate Wiki: Bear Cave at Rodalben . ( westpfalz.wiki ).